The first question that comes to mind is probably, “What is a cloud ship?”

Earlier this month The Times published an article about a sci-fi idea turned reality that could potentially combat global warming -  cloud ships. The cloud ships are a “wind-powered fleet of 1,900 ships [that] would criss-cross the oceans, sucking up sea water and spraying it from the top of tall funnels to create vast white clouds.”  These clouds would reflect a small percent of the sunlight that would otherwise warm the ocean, which in turn, would cancel out the greenhouse effect cause by emissions.

It’s more than a passing thought – the Copenhagen Consensus Centre has calculated that the fleet would cost $9 billion, far less than the $250 billion of planned spending to reduce emissions worldwide.  Further, there are already British and American teams of scientists in place seeking funding to build cloud ship prototypes.

What do you think?  Is this merely the result of a head in the clouds?  Or a legitimate solution?

For a detailed diagram, click here.

Or read the article in full.

Last week we announced the successful commissioning of our first Scandinavian MoorMasters™ in cooperation with Danish ferry operator Nordic Ferry Services.  As a result, we have garnered quite a bit of coverage, with some highlights collected below.  Enjoy:

The Maritime Executive, August 6, 2009

Cargo Systems, August 7, 2009

Port Technology, August 10, 2009

In the September issue of Port Strategy, Stuart Pearcey “investigates the all-important link between cable suppliers and the end client.”  In doing so, he addresses several key Cavotec projects, including Port of Camden’s Beckett Terminal in New Jersey, USA, the Port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, Ust-Luga on the Baltic, and the new terminal at the Port of Piraeus, close to the Greek capital Athens.

You will also find insightful quotes from our very own Dan Foster, VP Sales and Marketing at Cavotec Dabico, Christian Bernadotte,  President of Cavotec Dabico, and Diego Sanchez, Cavotec Specimas ERTG product manager – a job well done to all.

Read the on-line edition of the article here.

Consistent with overall global activity, our Q2 report shows Orderly Intake at €26.2 million, down 29.1% compared to Q1 2008.  On a rolling 12-month basis, Order Intake of €133.0 million is only slightly lower than the 2008 level, but 8.6% lower than Q1 2009.

The Order Book of €44.5 million is just barely (.3%) higher than the level at Q2 2008.  As such, we remain a step ahead of our industry’s economic trends and are prepared to gain momentum in the second half of 2009.

Read the report in full.

We have successfully completed the commissioning of Scandinavia’s first fully automated vacuum-based mooring system, MoorMaster™ units at Hov Terminal, with Danish ferry operator Nordic Ferry Services (NFS).

MoorMaster™ units at Hov Terminal

The NFS installation includes two MoorMaster™ units in the port of Hov on the Danish mainland, Jutland, and a further two across the Århus Bugt at Saelvig Port on the island of Samsoe. The units will perform between six and eight mooring operations a day throughout the year.  Designed to meet the specific conditions at Hov and Saelvig, each of the MoorMaster™ units has a holding capacity of 400K/N. Each set of twin units is capable of holding vessels in place in wind speeds of up to 24m/s.

The Hov-Saelvig route is served by the new-build passenger ferry Kanhave. Built in Greece, the Kanhave has a capacity of 600 passengers and 110 vehicles.

As with all MoorMaster™ installations, the units are fully automated: running system status checks, and ‘arming’, or preparing to moor, as radio signals activate the units as vessels approach from a distance of up to one kilometer. Cameras mounted on the side of the vessel also allow the captain to closely monitor the position of the ship throughout mooring. The master of the vessel has to press just two buttons throughout the entire process. Operators are able to choose from a hand-held remote unit from the bridge wing, or from a unit located on the bridge. The units remain active once a vessel leaves port in the event a ship needs to return to port, and after a set time the units return to ‘sleep’ mode.

Adopting the automated mooring system MoorMaster™ at Saelvig has saved the port operator substantial expenditure on infrastructure improvements. MoorMaster™ allows the port to increase capacity without the expense and inconvenience of extending the quayside: an operation that would have also reduced access to the port for other vessels.

NFS has a further eight MoorMaster™ units on order due for installation at other Danish ports.

© Carnival Cruise Lines

It is not surprising to hear that other ports, such as Southampton, are considering adopting cold-ironing systems, thus allowing docking ships to plug into onshore power in order to reduce emissions.

What is different this time though, is that Southampton officials also met with representatives from Carnival UK, discussing potential partnerships for this endeavor.  A Carnival spokesperson said, “As an environmentally aware company [we] would be willing to work with any port in developing projects which were both commercially viable and environmentally friendly.”

They are on the right track with cold-ironing; each ship using Cavotec’s AMP™ systems saves around one tonne of pollutants per day.

Read more about this potential collaboration here or here.